Parents ask about student safety in wake of Stonehill rape

Students won’t return to Stonehill College from winter break until Jan. 16, but some parents have called the school with safety concerns after a student reported being raped on campus on Nov. 23, a college spokesman said.

Students won’t return to Stonehill College from winter break until Jan. 16, but some parents have called the school with safety concerns after a student reported being raped on campus on Nov. 23, a college spokesman said.

There are 2,500 students who attend the private, Catholic college.

“We did receive a small number of parent calls and emails about general safety matters in the wake of the assault,” said Stonehill College spokesman Martin McGovern.

Easton police are searching for the suspects and circulated sketches of the two men, Easton Police Chief Allen Krajcik said Thursday.

“We’re doing what we can. We have two detectives working on this and they are spending a lot of time on it,” Krajcik said.

A call and email to Peter Carnes, the chief of police and director of safety at Stonehill College, was not immediately returned on Thursday.

“It remains an open an active investigation and the Stonehill police department is working closely with the Easton detectives on the case,” McGovern said.

Colleges must maintain statistics, which show that in six years – from 2007 to 2012 – there have been at least 20 sexual assaults reported on the Stonehill campus, according to federal data.

None of those cases, The Enterprise has learned, resulted in any criminal charges.